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0 Resident Evil 4
This is a 2023 remake of the game that got me into action games in 2005. Third-person over the shoulder shooters were new then and the action genre started appealing to me for the first time. It now has a modern polish and atmosphere steeped in dread along with, at last, controls that don’t make you feel like you’re stuck in a tank. Leon is as goofy and dashing as ever and the blood and gore is dialled up to 11. It is smooth, slick, sick and just a fantastic experience. I haven’t enjoyed a shooter this much since Resident Evil 4. Leslie, 37, Manchester
Akka Arrh
Akka Arrh is a modern take on a 1980s Atari arcade machine that was never released. Atari asked the legendary Jeff Minter (and Giles) of Llamasoft to reimagine the game and what they’ve come up with is pure arcade bliss. Trademark Llamasoft visuals: black background, blocky text, simple geometrics, coupled with modern psychedelic particle effects – with a trance soundtrack – produce a game that combines tower-defence strategy and arcade shooting. It can be as relaxing or complex as you want it to be. Minter, over his long career, has had a knack of creating games which are just fun – you can play it for five minutes and have a blast or play it for five hours and lose yourself. Paul, Stuttgart, Germany
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
It’s quite an achievement to improve on Breath of the Wild, but here it is. Importantly, for a game from a large publisher, it doesn’t push boundaries simply by having the latest cutting-edge graphics. Which is what 99.9% of AAA games dedicate all available resources to these days – and why so many of them are bland, boring, and redundant. Tears of the Kingdom is liberating as the player’s imagination and bravery is rewarded. Something you think won’t work … actually does! Scaling the heights for the first dungeon, up in the air above Rito, remains one of the most jaw-dropping moments I’ve ever experienced in over 35 years of gaming. This open-world approach makes titles like Witcher III look woeful in comparison. Jareth, 38, Manchester
Pizza Tower
Pizza Tower is like no other game I’ve played. It’s a fast, frantic 2D platformer where you play as a scared middle-aged Italian pizza chef and have to ascend a tower full of pizza-inspired levels full of pizza-inspired enemies and destroy its supports so that a giant pizza face called Pizzaface can’t destroy your pizzeria with a giant laser. You can’t die, but getting hurt reduces your score. Your aim is to get to the support pillar named John and destroy him, then run back through the same level you just did as it crumbles around you and a timer closes in at an uncomfortable rate. If you take too long, Pizzaface will arrive and kill you instantly if he touches you. Every level is brimming with personality and each plays out differently to the last. One minute, you’re exploring space, the next minute you’re playing golf with a sentient ball of cheese. It’s going to be hard to dethrone this one. Aaron Durning, 24, Dundee, Scotland
Diablo IV
I’ve never played any of the previous versions of Diablo, but heard they were very good. Nowadays, as a very middle-aged gamer, I tend to play games for quite a while and then lose interest, which is fine. No game has grabbed me in the way that Diablo has since probably the GTA series back in the day. I love the battles; you can feel yourself improving your gameplay as well as levelling up, and it has just about the right level of geekiness for me to allow me to play around with my gear and build to gain that edge. My 10-year-old self (playing Golden Axe) would have been so jealous of this game … Oh, and it is beautiful as well. Dominic Foot, 47, Ringwood, Hampshire
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Ghostland Yard
Ghostland Yard us an incredibly tight precision platformer, similar to Super Meat Boy. I appreciate games that respect my time and this one does that with its level design. It’s quite tricky and addictive though, so I usually do spend some time playing it. I don’t even find myself saying “just one more go”; the next level is just so instantaneous and I’m enjoying the challenge. It lends itself to people of a competitive nature with its global and local time rankings and finicky controls. It also has the options to unlock all levels and “infinite jumps”, which are great ideas to help out players struggling at any point. I am not sure on the story yet … I know there is meant to be one, but have not yet learned enough about it. Morgan, Melbourne, Australia
Dead Space
So far this year there have been some amazing games, but for me, the Dead Space remake has topped my list (so far). I didn’t play the original, mainly as I was too much of a scaredy cat. From the exploration to combat, I was at the edge of my seat throughout. After a few too many sleepless nights I did, however, make it through to the end credits. It confirmed I am still a scaredy cat but I had a “bloody” good time in the process. Jonas, 39, London
Cassette Beasts
Pokémon is my first gaming love, but its recent games have felt lacklustre, while other developers in the RPG genre have stepped up. Enter Cassette Beasts. From its primarily adult cast to the themes of the story, the game feels like if a Pokémon game was allowed to target an older audience. I’m playing on the Switch, where Cassette Beasts’ drop-in/drop-out co-op play makes it shine as a game to play with friends. Unfortunately, the Switch version has some performance issues, but patches are on the way, and I’m still completely addicted. Nick, 32, Melbourne, Australia
Street Fighter 6
Street Fighter 6 has been a revelation. I’ve always been an average player so could never pull off some of the more extravagant combos, but the system they have employed here with modern controls and the drive gauge has added a chess-like quality to matches. The hub world for online brings back a sense of arcades of yesteryear. There is so much depth to the fighting system that I can see new and veteran players all enjoying it equally. Nathan Hall, 44, Dublin
